Survival. The Raiders have lost two straight (by a combined 48 points) and fallen from a first-place tie to third in the AFC West. Another loss all but would eliminate them from the playoff hunt yet again. The Chargers have won four straight and are in second place in the West, but a loss Sunday would put them two behind Kansas City with just four games to play.

Punt protection. The Raiders became the first team in 20 seasons to block an opponent's first two punts of a game when these two teams met in Week 5. The Raiders used a safety and ensuing field goal off the first block and touchdown off the second block to build a 12-0 lead 4 1/2 minutes into what ended up being a 35-27 victory. The Chargers have allowed another block and a deflection but none in the past two games.

The QB. With Bruce Gradkowski's shoulder hurt again, Jason Campbell will start Sunday. Gradkowski started vs. San Diego in October but struggled (1-for-7) before being injured in the first quarter. Campbell came in and completed 13-of-18 passes for 159 yards as the Raiders overcame a 24-15 third-quarter deficit. Coach Tom Cable isn't a Campbell fan, so this could be Campbell's last opportunity to prove he deserves to be the Raiders' QB long-term.

3 key Raiders

RB Darren McFadden. The Raiders have 77 rushing yards the past two games. To that point, McFadden was the NFL's fourth-leading rusher with 757 yards and a 5.4-yard average. He had two yards last week and 14 the week before on a total of 18 carries. The Raiders now face the league's No.3 rushing defense, against which they gained 111 yards in October without McFadden.

WR/KR Jacoby Ford. The rookie's 101-yard kickoff return for a touchdown last week (his second return TD in three games) should scare the Chargers, who appear to have their special teams woes fixed but only vs. teams without good return units. Denver and Indianapolis averaged just 16.1 yards per kickoff return and have had an average starting spot of the 24-yard line vs. the Chargers the past two weeks. Oakland is starting beyond the 26 and averaging 22 yards per return.

DT Richard Seymour. The defensive line is another unit that has pretty much flipped its performance since the Raiders' bye week. It starts with Seymour and fellow DT Tommy Kelly grabbing the attention of the blockers. Miami and Pittsburgh averaged 4.2 yards a carry the last two weeks vs. Oakland in amassing a combined 348 yards, and the Chargers have rushed for at least 129 yards in three of their four consecutive victories.

3 key Chargers

QB Philip Rivers. Considering he rarely knows who his receivers will be, game to game, Rivers is more of a maestro now than ever. He has completed passes to a league-high 15 receivers. The Raiders recently have harassed him consistently and even banged him up, and a couple sack/fumbles (Rivers' only two lost fumbles this season) on Oct. 10 turned that game.

NT Antonio Garay. The nose tackle is owning the line of scrimmage for the Chargers, giving them a blocker-eating presence they lacked the past two seasons. With Oakland capable of running the ball – even if the past two games don't show it – Garay will need to continue a dominance that has the Chargers allowing just 81.1 rushing yards per game, third-fewest in the NFL.

FB Mike Tolbert. The fullback-turned-running back has two consecutive 100-yard games and likely will get the bulk of the carries again Sunday. The Chargers' balance is dependent on not turning the ball over and playing good defense, but Tolbert is churning out drive-sustaining yardage while filling in for injured rookie Ryan Mathews. And Tolbert appears to be over the fumble problems that plagued him in October, including at Oakland.

Bottom line

The teams' October meeting came in the heart of the Chargers' shooting-themselves-in-the-foot period. Two red zone fumbles (including one at the 1-yard line), another one just outside the 30 and the two blocked punts were enough for the Raiders to win. Now, while the Raiders have seemingly reverted to being their ineffective selves, the Chargers are looking again like the team that has won 34 of its 39 post-October games since 2006. They've eliminated major mistakes, are taking the ball away and are finding balance on offense. The Raiders stopped a losing streak to the Chargers at 13 games earlier in the season but will probably begin a new streak this week. Prediction: Chargers 30, Raiders 20.